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Henderson ISD board declines to adopt districtwide SB 11 prayer/reading resolution
Summary
After a presentation on Senate Bill 11, the board voted 7-0 to take no action on adopting a districtwide policy to provide a daily period of prayer and reading of religious texts; Trustee Shannon Coats moved the action and read the motion aloud.
Superintendent Brian Bowman briefed the board on Senate Bill 11 and the framework it provides for districts considering an established period for prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious texts. Bowman noted statutory constraints, including that a policy under the bill must ensure any period for prayer or religious text reading is not in the physical presence or within the hearing of someone who has not submitted a signed consent form and that such a period may not substitute for instructional time.
Trustee Shannon Coats moved that the Henderson ISD Board "take no action to adopt a resolution permitting creation of a policy requiring every campus of the district or school to provide students and employees with an opportunity to participate in a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text on each school day," specifying Texas Education Code 25.0823. Dr. John Taylor seconded and the motion carried unanimously, 7-0. The board thus declined to adopt a districtwide SB 11 resolution at this meeting.
